Identification of Students with Low Ability as a Means to Improve Their Potential in College.

San Mateo Coll., CA.

California junior colleges are now required to provide special counseling for students with poor high school records and low scores on college placement tests. College of San Mateo identified these students and asked counselors to work with them as seemed appropriate and as time permitted. The purpose of this study was to see if early identification of these students helped them do better college work, compared with similar students from the preceding year who had not been identified. It set out to determine the difference, if any, in (1) the withdrawal rate of identified and unidentified students, (2) the dismissal or disqualification rate, (3) grade point averages, and (4) English grades. The comparison groups were 220 students from the 1966-67 year and 254 students identified for special counseling in the 1967-68 year. It was concluded that: (1) students identified for special counseling seemed to persist longer but, at the end of the year, there was no difference in retention rate between the identified and unidentified; (2) identified students attempted fewer units, but there was no evidence that grades increased as loads decreased; (3) grade point averages increased for both groups from fall to spring and English grades were the same over a full school year; and (4) since merely identifying these students does not increase their success potential, some specific program must still be worked out. (HH)